Thursday, 18 February 2016

Europe Travels: Pisa, Italy

2/7: Pisa, Italy

Weather check: 36°C-38°C

I did a solo day trip to Pisa to visit the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa. The weather was insanely hot and for the first time in my entire life, I finished a 2 litres bottle of water in 4 hours without the slightest need to pee!

Tourist market at Pisa

Piazza Del Duomo
This area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and the architectures are really so beautiful.

Duomo Vecchio - a Roman Catholic church

Pisa Cathedral (Duomo di Pisa) - A stunning Romanesque masterpiece

Monumental Cemetery (Camposanto Monumentale)

Leaning Tower of Pisa
Fun fact: its tilt was originally unintended!

One of my many failed attempts at a clichéd tourist pose
I met this German lady who was also travelling alone. She was so nice to help me take quite a few shots (although this was the best one out of the lot ._.) and when I offered to help her take some photos, she was quite shy about it heh.

Another perspective of this amazing structure

The horses in Pisa looked so skinny with their ribs protruding :(

Exploring the streets of Pisa :)

Vibrant colours donning the exteriors of these buildings help in livening up this quieter side of Pisa.

Lunch was a really huge panini from L'Ostellino. This sandwich has tuscan cured ham, pecorino, aubergines, and pesto sauce in it. It was so filling!

Knights Square (Piazza dei Cavalieri)

Palazzo della Carovana - a palace in Knights Square

Saint Sebastian alle Fabbriche Maggiori

Panoramic view of Knights Square, taken with the iPhone.

Graffiti in Pisa

Most of the shops here are catered to mass tourists. There are plenty of shops selling leather bags and souvenirs which can be found outside of Pisa too.

Since I was unable to obtain the perfect shot, here is a shot of other people attempting to take theirs.

Last try
This time round, I avoided the annoying mandatory tourist pose and went for an easier one haha. Well.. at least my finger appeared to be close enough to support the Leaning Tower. Right?

Pretty blossoms
This was taken when I was walking back to the train station.

After Pisa, it was time for some shopping at The Mall (an outlet mall in Florence). I was a little lost at the train station so I sought help to buy the train ticket from this stranger. He was so kind to help me check the train schedules although he could barely understand me. Even though he had a bicycle with him, he still made an effort to let me know that my train was arriving at the platform (we were a level down earlier). Thank you stranger! :')
Leccio Reggello
I decided to reward myself with a wallet at The Mall and managed to sell my old one off yay!

When in Italy, it is a must to have gelato. Since I had not had my share of gelato today, I got one from a cafe at The Mall. It was especially shiok to have gelato during the hot summer days.

Yummy dinner at this lovely restaurant with S and her friends back in Florence :)

Strawberry cheesecake for dessert

On the way back to our hostel, we passed by Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. Such a pretty-looking exterior!

This sums up a long and tiring day in Pisa and Florence. Next stop, Cinque Terre :)